Now I Really Know
by LostInLost18
Summary: "I'm not one for corniness. In fact, I used to rent rom-coms just so I could boo them and flick popcorn at the screen. But right here, right now… Well, I can honestly say I've never been more in love with you than I am now." Delena one-shots set to ABBA.
1. Happy New Year

Now I Really Know

Damon && Elena  
Told Through Abba 

#1  
Happy New Year 

* * *

"Is it just me…" Damon grumbled aloud, as he scanned at the flyer which had been shoved at him during his five minute stroll into town. "…Or does this town have something going on every other week? Seriously… have they never heard the phrase _take a break_ before?"

Stefan, his brother, gave a short, humourless chuckle as he fastened his tie on. He was normally uncomfortable wearing suits but, for this occasion, he was more than happy to break the habit and wear it with pride. It was New Year's Eve, and the town had had precious little to celebrate as of late. This was one party he was actually looking forward to attending.

"Do my ears deceive me?" he said, sounding amused. "Damon… grumbling about a party? What is the world coming to?"

"Stefan! You can joke!" Damon exclaimed, shooting him a half amused, half exasperated look. "About time too. Your depressed act was wearing thin." He suddenly whirled around, wearing a mischievous grin. "So… gonna kiss Elena when the ball drops? Gonna pray for another _eventful _year are we?"

"Yes to the first, no to the second," Stefan retorted. "God knows we do not need another horrendous year like this one." He tightened his tie. "So, let's try not to attract trouble, agreed?"

"Agreed." Damon hid a smile. "Reckon I could get away with kissing Elena too?" The smirk resurfaced. "Or is that, as you so aptly put it, 'attracting trouble'?"

With an irritated sigh, Stefan decided not to answer. Damon, who generally attracted trouble without even trying due to his habit of frequently pissing people off, smirked and kept the idea glued to his mind, although his smirk faded a little as he realized it was more than just desire which had started the whole idea up. Sometimes even he had to wonder just how deep his affections went for that girl, and he would lie awake at night sometimes, combing his mind for answers it couldn't give him.

"Oh, come on, Stefan," he said, when the silence became smothering. "You don't have to be jealous. Sure, I'm the hotter, superior choice, but you don't need to worry. Elena knows who she wants."

His voice betrayed him at the end; a little bit of jealousy tinged the end of his sentence, which made his point slightly redundant. He couldn't help it though. After everything that had happened, his relationship with Elena had advanced no further. He vaguely recalled her saying he should stop with the flirty little comments but she could just be as bad. She drove him crazy with her snarky little comments, the way she would kiss Stefan knowing he was in full view, and, above all else, that freakin' smile! It was a coy, yet innocent smile, which practically drove him wild with desire. Every time she flashed it, he was sure his insides melted.

Shaking his head, he went to put on his own suit, his bare torso on full display. What woman could resist that? he had to wonder. Elena had seen it on one occasion and she'd barely reacted to it. She was stubborn and it made him even more determined to try and win her over.

"Whatever you're planning, Damon," Stefan called, as he exited the room. "I'd stop now before you cause trouble."

Amazingly, there was concern present in his younger brother's voice, which seemed to suggest he was concerned about his wellbeing rather than Elena's. Damon snorted, choosing not to answer. He had better things to do than exchange pleasantries with a wet blanket.

He soon had his suit on and he was surprised how well he pulled one off. He hadn't worn one since the Miss Mystic Falls pageant (and, boy, did that bring back some memories) - no, scratch that, the last time he'd worn a suit had been to that stupid Masquerade Ball. His memories were blurring into one, with only his moments with Elena becoming the ones he could easily pick out without even thinking about it.

Tonight was going to be lame, he could feel it. This holiday was over glamorised, over publicised, and he could practically smell the desperation already, as single, lonely girls batted their eyelashes at any single guy in sight in hopes of gaining a midnight kiss. Well, it might not have sounded so bad on paper, but there was only one set of lips he wanted to assault tonight and there was no way in hell she'd let him.

Gloomily, Damon adjusted his collar and allowed a brief, arrogant smirk to cross his face as he examined himself. One thing was for sure - tonight was a night where anything could happen. And surely, the prospect of another year was strangely exciting, even for a vampire like himself who'd seen two centuries pass. And, hell, it was another year to try and win Elena over, although his chances admittedly were slim. Still, he was optimistic that something good would happen tonight… it had to.

/./…././

_No more champagne  
__and the fireworks are through  
__Here we are, me and you,  
__feeling lost and feeling blue _

/./…././

Elena arrived at the Grille with fairly low expectations. She'd never really had a good New Year's experience so far. For example, last year, she'd been excited because, after all this time, she'd finally had someone special to share the moment with. But Matt, who'd been corrupted by Tyler into drinking, had missed the moment, meaning she'd had no choice but to go through what all girls dread at that time - being kissed by her dad, as if that was an acceptable alternative in any reality.

Still, next year couldn't possibly be as horrible as this year had been, so what harm was there indulging herself in a little fun? She spotted Jenna lurking by the bar and wandered over.

"Having fun?" she asked, smiling at her aunt, who was already at the heavy liquor.

"Depends on your definition of fun," Jenna slurred, looking tipsy already. "Ric is supposed to be meeting me here."

"And you decided to start the party early?" Elena guessed, amused.

"Yep! Always said you were the smart one," Jenna said, her eyes half closed, a giddy smile on her face. "Ah…" She'd spotted Ric. "My date is here."

Elena watched as Jenna stumbled her way towards Ric, her face expressionless. She waited for Stefan to come, all the while trying to spot anyone she knew in the crowd. Bonnie and Caroline weren't here yet, which was strange. The latter, in particular, was usually first on the scene at a party.

She went to get herself a drink - non alcoholic, of course - and she sipped it patiently, swaying absent-mindedly to the music. The old Elena would've stormed the dance floor by now, she realized sadly. She would've managed to secure some liquor by now and would've been dancing the night away, not caring what tomorrow would bring.

"Waiting for Stefan?" a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

Startled - but not surprised - Elena turned around and saw Damon smirking at her, clad in his best suit, looking quite handsome, it had to be said.

"You're a bit overdressed aren't you?" she pointed out, smiling because she was relieved to have found something to distract her.

"Uh-huh," Damon replied, giving her a _so what? _type of look. "Thought I might as well dress up for the occasion. I will be glad to see the back of this year, if I'm brutally honest."

"Same," Elena replied, nodding. "It's not exactly been my happiest year."

"What, even though you met me?" Damon gave a mock gasp. "Elena… I'm offended."

She rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored his comment. She stared around at the various clusters of people chatting away, a small smile creeping up on her face as she saw Jenna practically eating Ric's face. Damon followed her gaze and pulled a disgusted face.

"Now nobody wants to see that," he protested. "Should I go interrupt them? Maybe book them a room somewhere so they can take their sordid affair elsewhere?" He smirked.

"Leave them alone, Damon, they're in love," Elena said, sighing at the romance of it all.

Damon picked up on the undertone of unhappiness to her voice and looked at her with concern.

"You okay?" he asked, being serious for once. "You don't seem entirely…happy."

"I'm not." She looked at him, her eyes conveying nothing but honesty. "This year has brought a lot of changes to my life. Some good, some bad. Honestly, as much as the year has physically pained me, I don't think I'm quite ready to say goodbye to it yet."

"I have the perfect cure," Damon announced. "Alcohol."

And with that he disappeared, leaving a somewhat confused Elena behind. She turned to see Bonnie and Caroline arriving, the two of them looking somewhat tense, and she thought she could understand why. As a new vampire, Caroline was obviously quite uncomfortable around a crowd like this and Bonnie was nervous having her around them.

Elena smiled and, forgetting about Damon, walked towards them.

"Hey," she greeted them. "Glad you made it."

Caroline looked simply stunning. She was sporting this really cute yellow mini dress, the bottom of which ruffled outwards and showed off her legs. Bonnie, beside her, had dressed a little bit classier. She wore a black, backless dress, which swooped down and out and made her look absolutely stunning. Elena looked down at her own, bottle green strapless dress and felt quite inadequately dressed.

"You look gorgeous," Caroline told her, seemingly sounding sincere. "I wish I hadn't worn this dress if I'm honest." She pulled a face. "I don't really like it."

"Why did you wear it then?" Elena asked, puzzled.

"Because everyone else loves it," Caroline replied, "and I frankly need to feel good about myself again."

Elena and Bonnie exchanged a look but didn't say anything. They felt for Caroline, they really did, but it seemed like being a vampire had done nothing but good for her. She had grown in confidence and really seemed to lose the needy side to her which normally repulsed guys. There was no question that someone would be approaching her for a kiss at midnight tonight. It was just a shame the one person she wanted to kiss more than anyone else - who, as it happened, was working tonight, so would inevitably cross paths with her - was the one person she couldn't.

The song changed then and Caroline's face lit up.

"Ooh, let's dance," she suggested. "I love this song!"

And, before they could protest, she'd dragged her two best friends onto the dance floor near the stage where the bands usually played.

Damon, meanwhile, had returned with two drinks in his hands. He searched for Elena, smiling when he found her on the dance floor with Caroline and Bonnie, bearing an expression which clearly seemed to suggest that she didn't want to be there. He thought about rescuing her when Stefan suddenly approached.

"Aw, you bought me a drink," Stefan said, clearly attempting to joke again.

"Take it." Damon practically threw it at him, before wiggling his eyebrows at him. "I've got girls' hearts to break."

Stefan frowned as he watched Damon rope some poor girl from the crowd and started to dance with her, his efforts at getting close to Elena almost painfully transparent. He debated whether he should go over and announce his arrival to Elena before deciding to get her a drink first. He weaved his way through the crowd and managed to reach the bar, whereupon he was greeted with a slightly drunk Jeremy.

"How did you manage to get liquor?" he had to ask.

"Um…. Damon compelled the barman to serve everyone," Jeremy hiccupped, staring past Stefan. "And I - I've been taking advantage of that."

Stefan rolled his eyes. Why did every plan deemed to be at the lower end of the moral scale have to lead back to Damon? What was Damon up to exactly? It was something to do with Elena, he'd be bound.

"You going to tell Jenna?" Jeremy asked, slinging an arm around Stefan's neck. "I don't want you to do that…"

"I know." Stefan gently removed Jeremy's arm. "I won't say a word." He spotted Jenna, who seemed to be in a similar state. "Something tells me she wouldn't care anyway."

"Hello, brother." Damon was by the bar again. "Another two of the usual please Mr Barman."

Damon was also looking flushed with excitement - or liquor, one of the two - which gave Stefan an idea.

"You can do it," Stefan told Damon resignedly.

"Do what? You may have to be less vague," Damon asked, gulping back his drink.

"I'm going to give you this one freebie," Stefan said, leading Damon away so they could speak in private. "Against my better wishes, I'm going to let you kiss Elena at midnight."

"Huh?" Damon's jaw dropped.

"You can kiss her," Stefan repeated. "If you can, that is. Elena might not be as up for it as you are."

"Am I talking to the same Stefan who, without a hint of irony, told me to back away from Elena?" Damon asked, scrutinising him carefully. "Cause this one seems to be saying the exact opposite."

"Look, I can't pretend I like the idea," Stefan said calmly. "But I think tonight you can get away with it. I know you're in love with her Damon. And despite every part of me wanting to just not say this to you, I'll let you make your move on Elena for tonight. But," he raised a finger, "please don't be Damon for that moment and drag it out. Just kiss her…and then back away."

"You do realize you've sucked the fun out me actually kissing her now that you've given me permission to do it," Damon informed him.

Stefan actually smirked. "I know." Then, with a sigh, he added, "I trust you, Damon. I trust you to do the right thing here."

"Won't you be kissing her at midnight?" Damon enquired curiously. "I thought that was, you know, a traditional boyfriend and girlfriend thing to do?"

"If I knew where I stood with Elena, I would," was Stefan's somewhat tragic response, before promptly disappearing, presumable to consume an alcoholic beverage of some description.

Damon pulled a face, suddenly conflicted as to what to do. It didn't have to turn into anything more… except that was what he wanted. More. He didn't want their only kisses to occur on New Year's Eve, after a blend of alcohol and manufactured excitement. Stefan, if anything, had made the whole situation worse, rather than better and so, irritated, Damon disappeared into the crowd in search of the girl he'd been dancing with, aware there was only about fifteen minutes to go before he made a quick decision.

/./…././

_Sometimes I see  
__how the brave new world arrives  
__and I see, how it thrives  
__in the ashes of our lives _

/./…././

Elena felt irritated by the entire charade of tonight. It was just an endless nightmare. She had to force a smile on her face, pretend she was enjoying herself, but really she wasn't. She was worried about everything else, when tonight really called her for to just forget it. But the lights were making her dizzy; the cheap champagne - parent approved, of course- was giving her a headache. Really, she just wanted to run out the door and just go home.

"Hey," Stefan greeted her.

She smiled at him, relieved to see him here.

"Where have you been?" she asked, throwing her arms around him, sinking into his embrace. "I missed you."

"I've been here and there," Stefan replied vaguely, smiling at her. "Wanna dance?"

"You hate dancing," she said flatly. "I always have to nag you into it."

"Well, this is the one party I can dance to."

"Why? What's so special about tonight?"

"Are you kidding?" Stefan sounded excited, which was extremely strange for him. "It's New Year's Eve, Elena. I think the prospect of another year sounds kind of exciting, don't you?"

"Not when there's darkness around every corner," Elena pointed out, sighing as he seemed to sway on the spot, forcing her to dance alongside him. "I just don't see the point in celebrating anything until all of this mess is over."

"Remember when Caroline had been turned?" Stefan reminded her. "That was the darkest we thought we could get, and still we managed to steal a moment on the Ferris Wheel? We need to seize these moments, Elena, while we can. I love you, Elena." He assaulted her lips with a mixture of tenderness and fierceness.

"Okay," she agreed, sinking into the kiss. "But tomorrow…"

She couldn't really finish the sentence, because she was just so unsure what tomorrow would bring. Her life had become so confusing and frustrating that it was hard to do any "seizing", as Stefan put it.

Across the room, she spotted Damon chatting - well, flirting - with a young blonde - naturally - girl, and she rolled her eyes. At least _someone _was enjoying themselves. Bonnie and Jeremy were chatting by the bar - the latter looking wasted - and Caroline was pining after Matt. There was a mixture of issues in the room and yet she could only think about hers.

As she danced with Stefan, she looked at the clock and saw the time was ticking rapidly down to the moment girls got completely crazy about. She sighed heavily, her eyes crossing the room to where Caroline sat, her eyes on Matt and Matt only. Maybe hers wasn't the only love story impossible to figure out, which led to the question of Damon.

His eyes suddenly fell on hers and some kind of sharp, jolt of electricity ran through her body. She couldn't peel her eyes away and he seemed to realize that. His eyebrows wiggled in her direction and he gave her a smirk, which made her roll her eyes again, although she gave him a tentative smile back.

The music died down all of a sudden. Mrs Lockwood took to the stage, looking as elegant as always, and approached the microphone, throwing everyone a dashing smile.

"Welcome everyone," she called, her smile broadening as there was a loud cheer following her opening words. "In about two minutes, we'll start the official countdown." Another cheer occurred. "On behalf of myself, I would like to wish you all a very happy new year. May Mystic Falls play home to another year's worth of fortuitous circumstances."

She raised her glass. "To the new year."

"To the new year," everyone chorused.

Elena smiled up at Stefan, leaning her head against his chest, feeling slightly comforted by the thought he'd always be there for her. He was perhaps the one certain thing about her future.

"I'm just going to get a drink," he said, kissing her hand.

"Stefan… " she protested. "You'll miss the countdown."

But he'd disappeared, leaving her alone in front of the stage, frustrated and fed up. She was going to go home. To hell with New Year's Eve.

Unfortunately, in the middle of her storm out, she bumped into Damon, who wore a look of false surprise that he'd run into her of all people.

"We must stop running into each other like this," he told her, grinning. "It's getting to be rather annoying."

She laughed, despite herself. "Really?"

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding. "Now, may I ask where you are going? You'll miss the countdown."

"So? It's a stupid tradition."

"But a tradition nonetheless," he pointed out. He puckered his lips out. "As is the traditional…ah…kiss."

Elena shook her head, still laughing at the absurdity of it all. How could a town filled with such darkness still cling to silly traditions such as this?

"Who are you kissing at midnight?" Damon asked, looking almost eager, as though he was first in line for a big snog fest.

Knowing Damon, he probably was.

"I'm not kissing anyone, Damon. Now please move so I can go home," she instructed impatiently.

"Why do you hate all this?" he demanded, genuinely curious. "Have you never been kissed at midnight or something?"

"Of course I have," she said, looking flushed. "That's neither here nor there though is it? The point is I want to go home because everyone around me seems to be having a better time than I am."

As she moved to go past, Damon grabbed her arm.

"Let go," she instructed, looking annoyed. "Please…"

"Look," he murmured, for her ears only, "just because your parents aren't here, Elena, doesn't mean you can't have fun. I know it must be rough going through a year without them but you don't have to lie about it. I thought we were closer than that."

Elena paused, staring at him with astonishment.

"Ten!"

The countdown had begun; she wasn't even prepared for it.

"I could kiss you," Damon volunteered. "Just to get it over with." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "I happen to be very good at it."

Elena had a rude response all ready but his words had her all tongue-tied. How he saw right through her was so incredible, so wonderfully surprising, that she didn't even flinch as his head moved lower towards hers.

"Nine!"

She blinked rapidly, realizing vaguely she could count his eyelashes if she wanted to because he was that close. She pulled up Stefan's face in her mind and pulled away a little bit, determined not to succumb to Damon's rather obvious advances.

"Eight!"

He was expressionless for a moment. He was now close enough that their noses were almost touching. He poked his tongue out childishly and she let out a snort of a laugh, which had him drawing back with alarm.

"What was that?" he demanded, smirking. "Are you a woman or a pig?"

"Seven!"

"Stop it!" she choked out, nearly in stitches with laughter.

"Six!"

"Stop what?" he asked, pulling random faces now just to make her laugh even harder. "This is my face, Elena. If you're laughing at it, well, I find that rather offensive."

"Five!"

"You're not playing fair," Elena accused. "I can't do this to Stefan."

"He happened to give me permission for this," Damon told her. "And, besides, it's just a stupid kiss to do with stupid New Year's Eve. What can possibly come of it?"

"Four!"

"I guess it would be okay…" Elena said uncertainly, spotting Stefan by the bar. He'd never make it back in time, even with his incredible gift of speed. "If Stefan says it's alright…."

"Three!"

"Exactly. And we can look back on this and laugh," Damon replied. "Because we're just that awesome."

Elena smiled at him, reassured by his words.

"Two!"

"Here goes nothing," Damon muttered to himself, as he lowered his head in Elena's direction.

She closed her eyes, not really sure what she was doing by closing them. Bracing herself? Preparing to completely throw away every last shard of dignity she'd ever had? Avoiding looking at Damon whilst the deed - she refused to think of it as anything else - was taking place?

"One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Elena opened her eyes to get a glimpse of what was going on but found her mouth was under attack. Damon's lips met hers, in an incredible and tender way. They lingered there for only a moment, before he drew back and gave her a grin.

"There, now was that so hard?" he joked.

She smiled, relieved nothing further had happened. It had just been a standard kiss, nothing to worry about, or feel guilty about.

Yet, as soon as Damon had disappeared, her lips traced the outline of where his kiss had been, and she felt this strange sort of loss. Looking around nervously, she saw everyone else pull back from their kisses - Caroline and Tyler (of all people) were still in the middle of theirs - and she wondered whether everyone else felt this quiver in their stomach, like a million butterflies had been entombed inside her stomach, or whether it was just the moment.

Stefan rushed to her side not long afterwards and gently grabbed her head, leaning her back and kissing her lips in an equally tender, yet not quite as satisfactory, way. He muttered apologies in between each kiss and she allowed herself to lose herself in the moment, though her eyes searched for Damon, wondering how one little peck on the lips had done so much irreparable damage.

/./…././

_Seems to me now  
__That the dreams we had before  
__Are all dead, nothing more  
__Than confetti on the floor _

/./…././

**A/n: Hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Each chapter will be a songfic using a different ABBA song because I think many of the ABBA songs reflect Damon and Elena well. Each songfic reveals a different chapter in Damon and Elena's life, marking the beginning of a beautiful and completely fluffy journey ahead. **

**This chapter is set in season two, before The Descent, but after Tyler's transformation. Since there's no mention of any dates in the show, I assume if it's following the timeline of real life, Christmas and New Year's Eve will have passed. Even if it's not, we'll call this AU. I would've loved to have seen a scene where they celebrate New Year's Eve and Damon and Elena share a platonic ( at first ) kiss. Enjoy and please review!**


	2. Enchained by Your Own Sorrow

# 2

Enchained by Your Own Sorrow

* * *

/./…././

_Chiquitita tell me what's wrong  
You're enchained by your own sorrow  
In your eyes, there is no hope for tomorrow_

/./…././

Elena threw a bunch of her clothes into the washing machine, thoroughly irritated by the sheer futility of such a mundane task. Everything Katherine had told her resonated with her. Her friends' lives were in danger because of her. No words, no conceivable action could erase that fact.

She leaned her head against the wall, watching Jeremy play his video game, well aware that her days could well be numbered. Precious moments like this had to be cherished. She wished she could unload her mind onto someone, but who would listen without immediately jumping four steps ahead and presuming she would do something stupid? Jeremy would for sure, and so would Bonnie. Caroline was wrapped up with her own problems, so it wasn't fair to burden her with them, and as for Stefan… Well, ideally he would've been the one person she could trust to unload her problems to, except he seemed to have a fair idea about what her fate would include. He had his head buried in the sand half the time, meaning he couldn't see the bigger picture which frustrated her.

"What's up?" Jeremy asked, suddenly inches away from her.

He manoeuvred past her to access the fridge, his eyes on hers, as he mentally scrutinised her downcast expression, possibly searching for a rational explanation for it.

"Nothing," she said, giving him a brave attempt at a smile. "Just thinking about stuff." She quickly changed the subject. "What video game are you playing?"

Jeremy stared at her, clearly flummoxed.

"You've never shown any interest in my games in your life," he said flatly. "Seriously, what's up?" He hopped up onto the counter. "I've got a set of ears if you want to moan."

"It's not worth talking about, Jer," she insisted. "I'm just worried about everything that's going on. That's all."

"Oh." Jeremy couldn't really make an issue of that answer. "It'll be okay, Elena. We won't let you be part of some sick sacrifice ritual. We always find a solution to these types of problems."

He patted her on the shoulder, as if that made a damn bit of difference (although she appreciated the gesture), as he hopped back down on his way back to his video game. She narrowed her eyes as she continued to watch him, making a silent promise to herself that if any of the Gilberts had to die – and that was a big if – she would make sure Jeremy would survive. She loved him so much and, despite everything they'd been through, she would lay her life on the line to protect him.

But the thought of her own life ending frightened her, it had to be said. At seventeen, she should've been worrying about her social status at school, or becoming the next prom queen, or something just as silly and non important like that.

Sighing loudly, Elena took her pile of clean, dry clothing up the stairs and shoved them into the darkest space of her wardrobe, scowling at them as if they were responsible for all her problems. She then sat in front of her mirror, gazing at the array of photos on display with affection. Her phone buzzed and she picked it up, a small smile appearing when she saw Stefan's name light up.

_Hey. You okay? Jeremy told me you were worried...? Talk to me xx. _

She rolled her eyes; trust Jeremy to blab. She didn't need people fussing over her, worrying over what she might or might not do. Sometimes her friends' lack of faith in her could honestly take her breath away, although she couldn't say those types of thoughts had never crossed her mind.

_I'm okay, _she texted back. _Don't worry about me. I'm just worried about the future, you know? I don't like not knowing things xx._

There was a brief pause as she contemplated that statement. She hated uncertainty, but lately that was all her life was built up on. She'd grown used to it, if she was honest. But that didn't mean there wasn't a part of her which longed to just run away from it all. There were several places she immediately thought of as possibilities of places she could run to – her mom and dad's lake house, the old farm John had used to live in but was too stubborn to sell, Jenna's old house…to name but a few.

Stefan soon replied to her text, although his reply left her a little confused.

_The future is always an uncertain thing. I know things are a little…rough right now, Elena, but I know one year, two years, five years from now you'll still be here, living your life. I'm going to make sure of it xx_

It was typical of Stefan to think he could control her future. She closed her eyes, wondering why she was literally fighting against herself to keep their relationship together. It used to be so easy, like breathing. He would bring her flowers, hold her inside his arms, and tell her he loved her. And that would be that. It'd been so easy to believe that they would last forever. Now, it was literally a struggle to believe in forever, when the word had long since lost its meaning.

She buried her head inside her arms, succumbing to long repressed tears. She wallowed in self-pity, wishing there was just some way to turn back the clocks. A part of her wished she didn't know the things she knew. The truth could drive you crazy, and she was glad Jenna and Matt to name a few didn't know.

"Knock, knock," sang a familiar voice.

She quickly dried her tears, turning her head to glare at Damon, who was hovering by her window as though this was a perfectly natural way to enter someone's house. He flashed her a charming smile and, without giving her chance to letting her invite him, he hopped in.

"What do you want, Damon?" she asked irritably.

"My, my, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Damon teased, holding his hands up in mock surrender. "Relax – Stefan sent me over to see how you were doing. He was worried by your somewhat ambiguous text message."

"Why didn't he come over himself?" Elena asked, frowning.

"Because he doesn't know I'm actually here?" Damon actually looked guilty for once. "I lied."

"Big surprise…" Elena rolled her eyes. "Have you left _any_ of the Ten Commandments untouched, Damon?"

"Um…" He actually had to think about it. "No…"

Elena hoisted herself off the stool and sat on the bed, finding it much more comfortable. She flopped backwards, staring up at the ceiling, annoyed when her view became blocked by Damon, who grinned and made faces at her in an obvious attempt to cheer her up.

"Did Stefan tell you what Katherine told me?" she asked glumly, sitting up a little. "Maybe that should give you an indication as to what's wrong with me."

"Yep," Damon said, sitting next to her. "I don't think you should be so concerned, Elena. Even if this Klaus does exist, he doesn't even know you're alive, so he's not going to be appearing in Mystic Falls any time soon. Ta-da, problem solved."

"Problem NOT solved, Damon," Elena told him firmly, sighing as he started to rummage through her drawers again. "We don't know who else has been watching us. Hell, Rose and Trevor found us – found me – somehow, and they're not even close to being as terrifying as Klaus apparent is."

She snatched a pair of her underwear from Damon's fingers, shooting him a dirty look in response to his mischievous one. She grabbed his arm and steered him away from her underwear drawers.

"You need to take a chill pill and soon," was Damon's advice. "You're so focused on the what-ifs you're forgetting about actually _living._ Forget the what-ifs. Trust me, it's not a healthy subject to concentrate your mind on."

Elena gave him a thoughtful look, which was immediately replaced with an irritable one as he started to ransack her room again.

"Could you possibly leave my room in one piece?" she asked, heavily sarcastic. "I do need to sleep in it, you know."

"Is that what you do at night? I was under the impression you didn't," Damon demanded, looking surprised. "I've heard you, Elena, tossing and turning and making whimpering noises which can very easily be misconstrued for… Well, I'll let you fill the blanks in on that one."

"You watch me sleep?" she demanded, throwing a pillow at him, which he neatly dodged, in response.

"No," he explained calmly. "I merely check in every so often. I don't actually enter your room. I am a gentleman, after all."

"You watch over me?" Elena was moved. "That's…That's both sweet and kind of disturbing. How long do you watch out for?"

"Just until I've ascertained you're safe," he replied, avoiding her eyes. "It's been a habit of mine since you were kidnapped. I just have to…make sure you're still there." He shrugged, trying to make it sound like it wasn't a big deal. "I'm sorry if it disturbs you."

"No…" She took his hand, squeezing it once before letting it go. "It's very sweet of you, Damon. Thank you."

"So…whilst we're swapping stories, what were you crying about just now?" he asked, changing the subject.

She blushed. It sounded so silly now, when she thought about it carefully. She felt selfish thinking of herself and her own troubles, especially now that Damon, who had every reason to feel troubled himself, put himself out every night to make sure she was safe.

"It's silly," she admitted.

"Nothing that makes you upset is silly," Damon admonished, sitting next to her. "Now…tell your agony aunt what's wrong." He waggled his eyebrows and smirked, trying to insert some humour into the moment.

_Where to begin?_ Elena wondered. _There are so many things so crazy and twisted in my life, it reads more like an Anne Rice novel than anything else. _

/./…././

_Chiquitita you and I cry,  
But the sun is still in the sky  
__And shining above you.  
__Let me hear you sing once more  
__Like you did before, sing a new song Chiquitita _

/./…././

Damon listened as Elena poured her heart out to him. She confessed how she was worried for her friends, that she was going to end up being the death of them; she told him how she feared she was growing apart from Stefan, that their days together were numbered, even though she still very much loved him; she explained how the lies and secrets were still eating her away, and every time she looked at Jenna, she felt this hot shame boiling inside her, as though she didn't deserve to be her niece.

She talked for what felt like hours, before Damon held up a hand and scrutinised her carefully, clearly hesitating over what he was about to say.

"You're screwed up," was his eventual verdict.

"Damon!" she complained. "That's all you have to say?"

"No…" He smirked. "That was just my joke response. Seriously, though, Elena – how long have you kept all _that_ bottled up inside you? You could fill a bomb with the contents of your noggin. Probably would do more damage too." He winked, to show he was joking. "Why haven't you said this to Stefan? He'd give you better, admittedly more boring, advice."

"Because he'd feed me some cliché line about how it will all be okay," Elena admitted. "I don't need to be fed that line. Not when I know there's a chance things _won't_ be okay. I just need honesty, just this once."

He rubbed her shoulder sympathetically.

"I can't empathise," he admitted. "Because, really, I'm as new to this type of mess as you are. I can, however, _sympathise_. I think sometimes me and Stefan don't get that you're only _seventeen_, yet have to bear this colossal secret on your young shoulders. A secret, may I add, which grows every day."

She looked at him as though she was seeing him for the first time. Rarely did Damon show his sensitive, caring side, but when he did, she cherished the moment.

"Thank you, Damon," she said softly.

Damon looked extremely uncomfortable, rather than gratified. She knew being part of sensitive moments made him feel awkward, but she was grateful he was even trying with her. She knew there was still so much unspoken between them, so much left to resolve, but the fact that they seemed to be slowly gaining back a little of what they'd lost before was amazing.

Damon meanwhile studied Elena carefully. He saw what perhaps no one else looked close enough to see. He saw the faint bags under her eyes, the weary quality to her eyes, the stiffness to her body, like she was a waxwork doll not a human being, the dark shadow across her face… He saw that whilst she was alive, she didn't seem to be living and that was because of the all-consuming fear she felt at the possibility she might lose everyone she loved. And it wasn't until now that he felt like maybe, just maybe, he was a part of that long list of people.

"What are we doing about all this Original business, by the way?" Elena suddenly asked, looking serious.

"I would love to tell you that I have a detailed plan with a one hundred percent rate of success, but, without any further sources to actually give us an credible information to go on, I'm afraid there's not a lot we can really do until we know more," Damon told her. "Believe me, I would love to be decapitating each and every creature which poses a threat to you, but we are in the dark about this one."

She sighed, figuring as much. She'd been piecing together the bits of information Katherine had told her, along with everything she knew about vampires already and all she'd managed to draw from it, was that the Originals were older, more powerful creatures, which, let's face it, she knew anyway. Oh, yeah, and the somewhat irritating fact that they couldn't die.

"I want this to be over, Damon," she told him, her voice laced with sadness. "I want my friends and everyone I love to be safe. I hate being on the edge of something I can't escape." Her breathing came out in hitches. "I hate looking like _her._" The anger became ever apparent in her voice. "I hate being part of _her_ mess. She's just so –"

Unable to find a suitable word to sum up Katherine, Elena let out a low growl and punched her bed.

"Don't hold back, Elena," Damon joked. "You shouldn't bottle up your anger like that."

She scowled at him. "Helpful, Damon. If all you're going to do is make snarky comments, I'd rather you leave."

"What do you want me to do? Hug you and tell you it will be okay?" Damon retorted. "In case you suffer from short-term memory loss, I must remind you that you said you'd rather someone be honest for once. Here's the honest truth; I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know who's going to get hurt, or whether this so-called Klaus will even make a move once he knows you're here. What I _do_ know is that I know three or four _good_ people who are willing to make sure nothing happens to you. And I will do my best to protect those people."

"Your best?" Elena challenged.

"Yes, Elena. My best," Damon replied, not liking her tone. "I could take a formal oath if you wanted?"

"Funny," she snorted, looking irritated.

"You need sleep," he said, matter-of-factly. "Your temper right now is borderline psychotic. I feel like if I say one wrong word to you, you're going to bite my head off. And, frankly, I'm too pretty to be eaten."

"Welcome to my world!" Elena retorted. "Now you know what it's like to be me trying to talk to _you._"

"Am I really that bad?" Damon wondered, smirking.

Deciding to ignore his snarky, self-absorbed comment, Elena lay her head on the pillow, fighting back a wave of sheer exhaustion caused by endless nights of worrying. Damon was right on one count – she did need some sleep.

"Go to sleep," Damon encouraged. "I'll make myself scarce, if you want."

"No, don't." Elena was surprised by herself. "Stay. Just…stay off my underwear." She yawned loudly. "I mean it… D – Damien."

"Damien?" Damon questioned.

"Whatever," Elena mumbled. "Your name starts with such a common letter."

"Oh, so my name should start with a letter like Q then?" Damon teased. "I'll just call myself Quentin because _you_ think the letter D is _so_ common. What next? Shall I change my phone number because three is _such_ a common _number?_"

"Shut up," Elena mumbled, her eyes closed. "You know you'd do it if I asked, so I suggest being quiet before I make it a real demand."

He laughed quietly, although she had no idea how much of that statement was actually true. He sometimes speculated about just how far he was willing to go for her. He mocked Stefan for the level of devotion he gave to Elena, but he was hardly innocent of that crime either. Despite the fact they both had wanted to avoid repeating the past, repeating the past was exactly what they were doing. Here was this beautiful girl who lay between them, the subject of their every conversation, every quarrel, and yet she seemed to know where her heart lay. He sometimes thought about leaving, just to make it easier on himself. Because, truthfully, every time he saw her with and around Stefan, it crushed him inside.

And that, it seemed, was going to be a drop of honesty he would keep to himself.

But right now, she looked so incredibly radiant. Her skin was practically glowing. Hesitantly, he laid a finger against her skin, making a soft stroking gesture so as not to disturb her. Her chest rose and fell softly, and never before had she seemed like such a temptation to him. Not _that_ kind of temptation, obviously, but he felt like not taking advantage of this moment would've been such an uncharacteristic thing to do, and yet it was the _right_ thing to do. She loved Stefan. He didn't want to go down that road again whereby he displayed his emotions and got shot down, perpetuating an act of such extremity and vulgarity, he would end up pushing her away for good.

With a surprising amount of gentleness, he moved up the bed, realizing he could not have been more of a stalker if he tried, but he didn't particularly care. Further proof that he was right to stay where he was came in the form of a surprising sign; Elena moved suddenly in her sleep, her hand falling perfectly across his, her head nested against his chest.

He daren't move, which gave him an even better excuse to stay put. If Stefan were to drop on by, he could hardly attack him for lying with his girlfriend as it a) wasn't technically doing anything wrong, merely helping a friend drop off to sleep, and b) would've disturbed Elena, which he knew Stefan wouldn't want to do.

He could imagine Stefan's response, as well as the unhappy expression he would pull.

_"Enjoy the moment, Damon,"_ he would say, sourness dripping into every syllable, every word. _"Enjoy it while it lasts."_

And he would. Oh, he would.

/./…././

_So the walls came tumbling down  
__And your love's a blown out candle  
__All is gone and it seems too hard to handle…_

/./…/./

Elena felt strangely peaceful, serene even. Her dreams, for once, weren't plastered with dark, horrific images filled with blood and screams and the like. She was able to conjure up much more pleasant images – lazy afternoons curled up in Stefan's arms, summer days by the old well with Caroline and Bonnie, swimming in the lake up at the lake house with Jeremy – and it helped her entire body relax.

She couldn't say at which particular point she woke up. She managed to sit herself up, feeling remarkably better than she'd felt for a long time. She looked around, surprised to see Damon was no longer there. Surprised…and disappointed.

She looked at her phone, which had an unread message on it. Curious – and, at the same time, a little wary – Elena opened it.

_Needed some peace and quiet. You were snoring and it was getting on my nerves. :) Damon. _

She snorted with laughter. It was typical of Damon to leave her a snarky text message to wake up to.

She felt lost now he wasn't here to distract her. She thought about ringing Stefan, which seemed to be the obvious thing to do, but she felt like being alone. Misery threatened to consume her again. Unable to control it, she went over to her mirror, so that she could at least have a decent excuse if anyone caught her crying. She could blame it on the memories.

Something caught her eye; a piece of paper, which didn't normally belong taped around her mirror, caught her attention. Something was scrawled on it, which immediately had her smiling.

_Be strong. Rough times may be ahead but I've got your back.  
__You're worth saving, Elena. Remember that.  
__Love - wait, that sounds too out there - from - no, that sounds too formal - er...LOVE FROM - not great, but it'll do - Damon. The eternally handsome, wonderful, better-looking-than-Stefan stud!_

She smiled, shaking her head as she took it down. Checking to make sure no one was looking, she carefully folded it in two before slipping it inside her diary, tucking both away out of sight.

* * *

**A/n: Thank you for all your reviews! This is actually harder than it looks, writing a fic around a song lol. But I'm quite pleased with the way this turned out. I apologize if any of the characters seem OOC. I've seen some ridiculous fics out there, so I'm convinced even if the characters in mine are a little OOC there are a lot worse ones which show Elena practically throwing herself onto Damon. Seriously, people, show a little bit more subtlety; it's all I ask for. :P But there are some brilliant fics out there, which makes me proud to be a part of this site so go you! ;D **


	3. Diggin' the Dancing Queen

#3

Diggin' the Dancing Queen

* * *

/./…/./

_Friday night and the lights are low  
Looking out for a place to go…  
Where they place the right music, getting in the swing  
__You've come to look for a king._

/./…/./

"What do you think?" Caroline held up her outfit. "Too slutty?"

Bonnie and Elena exchanged a look. Not particularly keen on evaluating Caroline's outfits, they looked at the dress carefully, keen to keep Caroline as happy as they could. In all honesty, the dress wasn't that bad. It was a short dress, looking as though every colour had collided on it. It was natural, however, for Caroline to keep to the theme of these things almost religiously.

"It's…nice," Elena said carefully.

"It keeps to the theme," Bonnie commented, pulling a face.

"I know what you guys mean," Caroline said, nodding approvingly. "The fashion in the 70s was _horrible_. But it's a 70s dance. There's going to be lots of other people sporting this atrocity of an outfit, so it's all good." She beamed. "That's the outfit done. Who wants to do my hair?"

"I will," Bonnie volunteered, smiling at Caroline's enthusiasm. "Gives Elena enough time to find her outfit out." She gave her friend a pointed look. "Take the hint, Elena."

"I told you, Bonnie, I'm not going," Elena informed her.

"Why?" Caroline exclaimed, looking shocked. "It's a _dance._"

"That's exactly why I'm not going," Elena explained, looking down at her hands. "I've got too much to worry about, what with all that's been going on recently. If I go to a dance, it's because I want to have fun and enjoy myself but I can't. Not tonight anyway."

"That's no excuse," Caroline scolded. "If anything, we need to cherish these moments. We're not going to be 17 forever. Well…you guys won't." She gave them a flash of a smirk. "I'll still retain my youthful beauty whilst you two grow old and become hags."

Bonnie playfully hit her friend on the shoulder, rolling her eyes in Elena's direction. Elena laughed, just about able to detect the otherwise well disguised pain in her friend's eyes. It had to be hard knowing your friends would grow up, have families, whilst you were left behind to repeat your teenage years over and over.

"Nice, Caroline," she said, pulling a face. "I intend to grow old with grace."

"Well, before that happens, these are the years to embrace," Caroline told her matter-of-factly. "I, for one, refuse to let you back out on account of the fact that a little danger might be around the corner."

Elena opened her mouth to give the true quantity of danger they were actually in, but hadn't the heart to actually rain on Caroline's parade. What was the point? Just because she was the miserable one didn't mean she had to bring her friends down with her. She wasn't particularly excited about dances anymore anyway, but she had a sneaky feeling Bonnie and Caroline would find a way to talk her into going.

"Jenna can help me fashion an outfit if I go talk to her now," she admitted resignedly. "I know for a fact she'll end up going to this thing because she's a sucker for the decade dances."

"There's the spirit," Caroline exclaimed. "Be careful, Bonnie… You almost set my hair on fire and that would not be good for my complexion."

"Because you'd melt like a waxwork doll if it got onto your skin?" Bonnie teased good-naturedly.

"Uh-huh, not to mention it'll spoil my facial arrangement." Caroline gestured to her face. "This took _hours_ to do. Thank God for the fact that I don't have a life anymore else I would've been swamped with telling people what to wear, being the general fashion guru, you know…"

Elena drifted in and out of their conversation. She loved the fact that they'd all seemed to have gotten back into the routine they'd had when they'd all been human. Bonnie and Caroline, if anything, seemed even tighter than usual, which she could only be thankful for.

"I'll be right back," she called, as she ran out of the room.

Running downstairs, she saw Jenna looking surprisingly miserable in the kitchen, staring at her phone with tears in her eyes. Elena felt as though she'd intruded in a private moment, but couldn't back out because her aunt had already looked up at the sound of her footsteps.

"What's wrong, Jenna?" she asked, concerned.

"Nothing," Jenna replied, shrugging. "Need me to help you assemble an outfit?" At Elena's puzzled look, she added, "Thin walls, remember? You can wear what I was going to wear tonight if you want. I laid it on my bed."

"You're not going?" Elena looked puzzled. "You always go to these things. It's like a Jenna tradition."

"Well, Rick's gonna be there," Jenna said pointedly. "I can't face him, Elena. Not after all the lies he's told me. What is it about me that screams gullible? I mean, first Logan lied to me, and now it turns out Rick is being less than honest." She chuckled humourlessly. "I really know how to pick 'em don't I?"

Elena felt the familiar hot swooping sensation in her stomach. She couldn't go along with bitching about Alaric when she knew she was guilty of the exact same crime as him.

"You obviously miss him, Jenna. You should go," she suggested. "Even if you don't want to talk, just be there. Maybe he'll explain himself, tell you why he had to lie to you. Sometimes lies are necessary."

"Necessary my ass," Jenna grumbled. "When are lies ever necessary?"

"When the person doing the lying wants to protect the people they love," Elena told her gently. "Sometimes telling the lie is harder than hearing it."

Jenna narrowed her eyes. "Do you speak from experience?" she asked suspiciously. "Because I'm sure half the fights you have with Stefan stem from his lack of honesty and, in which case, you have no right to judge."

"True," Elena said honestly. "But we are trying to work through it. I mean, relationships are about honesty but sometimes there are things we don't need to know. I know sometimes I've asked Stefan about things I've immediately regret finding out about."

"Give me a for instance…?"

"His pain of an ass brother," Elena said, half joking but it lightened the mood.

"Nah… Damon's not so bad," Jenna replied, chuckling. "But I hear ya. I'll consider it. Still, if he decides to open up, I won't object to that either." She smiled. "You remind me of Miranda so much sometimes: stubborn as hell when it comes to receiving advice but when it comes to giving it? Ah, she was always great in that department, yet I digress." Her smile widened. "Come on. I'll help you find something, 'cause there ain't no way you stealin' _my_ outfit."

"What's with the attitude?" Elena teased affectionately. "You know you're about as hard as a marshmallow."

Jenna pulled a face. "Thanks for the vote of confidence in my parental skills," she jokingly complained. "I was going for a bit o' southern charm, if you must know, which says a lot about my acting skills." They both laughed. "I might be a lousy parent but I know a thing or two about the 70s."

Linking arms, they marched up the stairs, laughing the way as they tried out different accents (most of them coming out Indian), Elena's mood receiving a huge boost on the way so that she found herself actually looking forward to the dance.

"I actually have one of your mom's old dresses from the actual 70s," Jenna whispered conspiratorially. "You'll actually have the proper look." She gave her a look. "Normally, though, you are organized with this type of thing. Why have you left it to the last minute?"

"I wasn't going to go," Elena confessed. "I got roped into it."

"Bonnie and…?"

"A-ha."

Jenna smiled understandingly. "You must have some brilliant friends if they managed to talk you round into going to the dance rather than moping." She saw Elena's look and said, "Ah, I recognize a moping face when I see one. I practically invented it." She gave Elena a tentative smile. "Want to talk about anything? I might not do parenting but I'm one heck of a listener."

"Nah, it's okay," Elena said, smiling gratefully. "I guess me and Stefan are having some…differences in opinion." _To say the least._ "But we'll power through. We always do."

"Indeed," Jenna agreed. "And I would love to know the secret of your success. I seem to suck at maintaining relationships apparently."

"You don't suck, Jenna," Elena comforted her. "I think you're just reaching a point where you know what you want out of a relationship."

"Oh… you mean growing up? Nah…" Jenna dismissed the idea with a soft chuckle. "Heaven forbid I grow up when there's so much fun to be had staying young! Come on – why talk when there's an outfit to assemble?"

Elena giggled. "Okay… lead the way."

/./…././

_With a bit of rock music,  
__Everything's fine  
__You're in the mood for a dance_

/./…././

Linking arms with Stefan, Elena found herself reminiscing about the 50s dance as they entered the gymnasium where the dance was being held, which had nearly ended quite badly for her. Out of habit, she found herself searching the room for a man in a black hoodie, almost laughing when she saw Stefan was doing the same sort of thing.

"Can we get through one crummy school dance without a psychotic vampire turning up do you think?" she asked, slipping her hand into his.

"Doubt it, seeing how Damon's just turned up," Stefan said, spotting his brother in amongst the crowd.

"Be fair, Stefan. He's been good lately," Elena admonished. Her eyes narrowed, however, as she puzzled over something. "Why _is_ he here though? I don't understand. He doesn't need to protect me anymore. The danger's not in the school dance anymore."

"I think he just likes showing up here, if I'm honest," Stefan replied, gazing at her. "Maybe he hopes to score a date…I don't know."

They started to dance, swaying slowly as a slow song came on. He twirled her around, Elena finding her eyes were glued to Damon. If he was hoping to score, he evidently wasn't doing so well. His eyes found hers and she gave him a soft smile, which he just managed to return. He promptly disappeared afterwards, and her smile disappeared. She actually found herself worrying about him, which became a bit of a distraction.

"What were the seventies like?" she asked Stefan, as a lame attempt to distract herself. "What were you doing in that time? Hardly dancing and wearing hot pants, I imagine."

Stefan chuckled. "The seventies were okay. Not the best era culturally, but they were fairly peaceful as decades go. I spent most of my time avoiding trouble, if anything. I toured the world for a bit with Lexie."

"Where did you go?" Elena asked curiously.

"Paris, Rome…all the big capitals," he replied nostalgically. "There were a few beautiful villages in the north of France we went to as well. I'll have to take you one day. I think you'd love it."

"Sounds dreamy," she replied, leaning her head against his chest. "I love the idea of just running away from it all. Can we do it now?"

It was only a joke, but the idea of it suddenly nested in her mind. She wanted to just get up and go and never look back. It was certainly a sight better than staying here and letting darkness envelope their lives.

"I wish we could go," Stefan said, cupping her face in his hands. "You know I'd love to. But…"

"But we can't," she said flatly, sighing heavily. "Yeah, I know."

"Are you okay?" he asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing. "You've seemed a bit…off lately. Is it something that I did?"

"No," Elena said immediately. "It's nothing, Stefan."

"It's not nothing, Elena," Stefan argued. "I know when something's wrong with you. I can see it in your face."

"Maybe you're not very good at reading me then," Elena hissed, backing away. "I'm _fine_, Stefan." She spotted a forlorn Jenna and found her excuse. "I'm going to go see how Jenna is. I'll talk to you later."

She pushed past him, immediately wanting to cry. The distance between them was now so thick, she could've plastered a poster onto it and passed it off as a billboard. Eager for a distraction, she meandered her way over to a lost looking Jenna, taking her by the hand and leading her to the side.

"You okay?" she asked, speaking loudly over the music.

"I may need a strong drink," Jenna confessed, clearly searching the crowd for Rick. "This was a mistake… I feel like an idiot coming here."

"You just need to loosen up," Elena said, realizing she probably needed to heed her own advice. "Come on – let's dance. I love this track."

She pulled her aunt to the dance floor, trying very hard to keep both their minds off their own personal relationship problems. She twirled a clearly confused Jenna, who stumbled off in the wrong direction, causing them both to giggle like schoolgirls. Jenna then proceeded to twirl Elena, as payback, but then they bumped heads as they crossed paths, causing their giggles to evolve into howls of laughter.

/./…././

_You are the dancing queen  
__Feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah  
__You can dance, you can jive  
__Having the time of your life  
__Ooh-ooh, see that girl, watch that scene  
__Diggin' the dancing queen_

/./…././

Damon, who had been pacing the floor in search of fresh meat (and he was speaking metaphorically of course), paused when a strange noise met his ears. Over the usual mindless chatter and giggles, he could hear strange howls of laughter, which was bizarre considering there wasn't anything even remotely funny about dancing.

His eyes came across Bonnie and Caroline, who were dancing together, oblivious to his stare. A faint smile fell across his face, as the painful reminder of what had happened the last time he'd been here caught up to him. None of these girls were sufficient enough to pass off as a distraction so he could avoid watching Elena dance with Stefan. A timid fresher had shown some interest but he'd given her a scornful look which had sent her scurrying back to her clearly irritated friends.

The source of the noise soon became apparent; and what it turned out to be had his eyebrows skyrocketing up into his fringe.

Elena was _laughing_ – I mean, properly _laughing_ – as she performed all sorts of crazy, wild moves to cheer up her otherwise depressed aunt who, just as strangely, was also snorting with laughter. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if he'd finally cracked. He'd not seen Elena enjoy herself this much since their trip to Georgia.

Unable to resist getting in on the action, he smoothly slid his way over to them.

"Enjoying yourselves, ladies?" he teased.

"Hell to the yeah!" Jenna yelled, before covering her mouth in horror. "Why did I just say that? That did not just come out of my mouth."

Mortified, she ran off, leaving Elena and Damon alone.

"Do I just bring that reaction out in people?" he asked Elena.

"What? The urge to say weird, random things and then run away?" Elena thought on it. "Yeah…that's all you."

He grinned. "Wanna dance?" As an afterthought he added, "Please?"

"Well, because you asked so _nicely,_" Elena teased, taking his outstretched hand.

Thrilled at actually managing to have someone to dance with, Damon seized the opportunity with both hands. Enthusiastically, he whirled Elena around, an act which made her breathless with laughter.

"Don't!" she shrieked. "If one more person twirls me, I'm gonna hurl."

He pulled her back towards him, grinning.

"Oops… _so_ sorry," he said, sounding anything but. "My mistake." An idea struck him. "Hey… we should totally do that move from _Dirty Dancing_. That big lift, or whatever it's called."

"Yeah, 'cause _that's_ safe," Elena snorted. "We're in a crowded room, Damon. Be sensible please."

He pouted but otherwise did what she said. As a livelier tune met their ears, he grinned.

"I bet Stefan never showed you the special seventies dance, did he?" he asked. "Want me to show you? I could make a dancer out of you yet."

"Okay…" Elena was bemused by Damon's sudden enthusiasm for dancing. "Show me your moves, Mr Salvatore."

Damon raised a lone eyebrow, taking that as his cue to show off his skills as a dancer. With one hand on her waist, and the other on her shoulder, he steered her around for a bit, lifting her up (she was really light, even for a girl) and then dropping her before effortlessly catching her moments before she fell to the floor.

"Wow," she gasped, her face a fine shade of white.

"Were you scared?" he asked, amused. "You can trust me, Elena. I have excellent reflexes." His hand lingered a little too long on her arm before he pulled her back to his feet.

"I may hurl," she confessed, laughing. "Stefan takes it slow but you…"

"I like a rough ride," Damon replied wickedly. "I know. I would completely destroy you if this was an empty room. Hey…that's a thought."

He tugged at her hand and started to drag her.

"Where are we going?" she asked impatiently. "Damon…"

He didn't answer until they were well out of the room and halfway down the corridor. He looked around before locating the cafeteria and dragged her inside.

"Well, this is going in an interesting direction," Elena huffed, slightly out of breath. "This room? Seriously? Do you not remember what happened in here? How I nearly lost my life because of some creepy, obsessed vampire stalker?"

"Ah…" He remembered what had happened in this room and looked abashed. "Oops… Well, this is a quieter room. Couldn't take much more of the sheer volume of teenage angst in there." He shuddered. "Gotta say, much prefer dancing when there's actually space to do it."

"Same," Elena surprised him by agreeing with him. "I like _dancing_ dancing. You know…dances like the waltz or the foxtrot, or whatever."

"Didn't peg you as a classy lady," he mused, grinning at her. "You have great taste though. Most teens only bop to the Macarena…"

"That would be _kids_, Damon," she corrected. "Not teenagers."

"Huh… I am so out of touch."

"I'll say you are," Elena said slyly. "Grandpa…"

He rotated his head slowly to face her, a teasing glare on his face.

"What?" She raised her hands defensively. "You're old enough to be one."

Damon remained perfectly still for the moment, which freaked her out because he didn't even seem to _blink_, let alone do anything else. She approached him warily, waving a hand over his face. He suddenly lunged at her, grabbed her hand, spun her around before dropping her again.

"You've gotta stop doing that," she breathed, looking pale again. "I never know if you're going to catch me in time."

He pulled her to her feet and, in an unexpected move, kissed her hand.

"I will always catch you," he said seriously. "Do you think I'd be able to sleep at night if something happened to you on my watch?"

"I wasn't aware you did sleep. I always thought you sort of…" She made an inexplicable gesture. "I dunno…ruled the night, terrorised the village...Alright, I can't picture you actually still and quiet!"

Damon snickered immaturely. "I can so be still and quiet. Fooled you just now didn't I?"

"You are such a baby," Elena muttered.

He winked at her. "And you know it."

"Hey," a new voice entered the room. "What are you guys doing in here?"

Damon and Elena turned at the same moment to see Caroline and Bonnie staring at them, wearing identical expressions of disbelief and suspicion.

"It's not what it looks like," they both said as one.

"Sure," Bonnie and Caroline said, also at one.

The two pairs stared at each other before succumbing to laughter.

"Weird," Caroline remarked. "We have this weird vibe going on. What are you guys doing in here? Party's all the way in the other room!"

"Damon wanted to show off," Elena said, rolling her eyes. "So, he dragged me in here to show off his 'moves'."

"Hey! What's with the air quotations?" he demanded playfully. "I happen to be a _way_ better dancer than Stefan."

"Ugh, get a room…" Caroline muttered, for Damon's ears only. "Your playful banter makes me want to hurl."

He smirked in her general direction, but otherwise gave no indication he'd even heard her.

"Come on, Caroline," Bonnie said, dragging her friend away. "It's clear we're interrupting a _moment._" She threw Elena a _why Damon?_ type of look on the way out, to which Elena had no response.

"I think your friends think there's something going on between us," Damon noted, a wicked smile upon his face.

"I'll correct them later on," Elena sighed. "Don't encourage them to think there's something going on here because there's not."

"Fine, but you have to tell me right here, right now who's the better dancer – me or Stefan?"

"Er…" Elena was at a loss of words. "At the slow dances, Stefan, but you can hold your own at the faster dances, I'll give you that."

Damon punched the air, a look of childish triumph on his face.

"But seriously," she continued. "We do need to rejoin the party. Stefan's probably worried sick about me."

"Fair enough," Damon said, giving her his trademark smirk. "At least I managed to steal you away for a few minutes, show you what a good time really looks like. I think I might go to the Grille, leave on a high note."

"Really?" Elena, even to her own ears, couldn't mask the note of disappointment to her voice. "You've only just got here and you're going to leave? At least stay for a bit longer. It's nice to see you behaving for once."

"For once?" Damon raised an eyebrow. "Relax, Elena. I'm the good guy now, remember? I don't rip people apart for the fun of it anymore."

"Good." Elena smiled up at him. "Thank you, Damon. Tonight was fun…"

She squeezed his hand in gratitude, before walking out of the room. He grinned an odd sort of grin, wishing he'd had the sheer balls to just grab her hand back and pull her into a kiss. _Funny how the greatest ideas seem to dawn on you right after the moment has passed,_ he thought to himself.

/./…././

_You're a teaser, you turn them on  
__Leave 'em burning and then you're gone  
__Looking out for another, anyone will do  
__You're in the mood for a dance._

/./…././

Elena re-entered the gymnasium, Stefan immediately by her side, looking worried, a look she wished he could just lose this once. She was fine. He had to stop being so overprotective all the time. She appreciated he was looking out for her but she knew there was another reason he was following her about. He was jealous because he knew she'd disappeared with Damon.

"Hey," he said softly. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier."

She stopped in her path, turning around to stare at him.

"Please dance?" he asked, gazing at her with those eyes she could never refuse.

"Alright," she grudgingly conceded. "Any twirling though and I'll make sure when I hurl, it goes over your nicely ironed suit."

She grinned and felt his arms wrap around hers. It felt different to how Damon had held her. Not better, not worse, although there was a lack of something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Even though Stefan danced without complaining all evening – which was a miracle for him – she realized when she piled into bed hours later exactly what had been missing between the two of them which she'd had experienced with Damon. And it frightened her the moment she realized what it was.

A spark.

* * *

**A/n: thank you for reviewing! Glad you like these one-shots. I think the next one-shot will involve them getting even closer so look forward to that. This was really fun to write, more so than the other two because 'Dancing Queen' brings back such lovely memories for me so applying it to Damon and Elena was doubly fun! Enjoy and keep reviewing!**


	4. Mamma Mia!

#4

Mamma Mia!

* * *

She felt so angry. Murderously angry. The tears spilled down her cheeks and they just wouldn't stop coming. Every little comment Stefan made to try and cheer her up was just irritating her further. His constant fussing and fretting over her was causing her blood to boil. If he tried to mollycoddle her one more time, she was going to explode. And, screw it, he was cleaning up the mess left behind in her explosive path.

But revisiting Damon's blank expression as he'd examined the wound made an invisible gear inside Elena's head click, and then she was back to feeling inexplicably sad. Her entire body started to tremble and she felt as though she couldn't quite get a steady grip on reality. Yes, Damon had been in life and death situations before but this was different.

He was going to die.

And she had no idea how she really felt about it because all the other emotions she had stored away for later were piling up high. She couldn't prioritise any of them, they were equally as valid and important as the last. Now that Stefan had finally been persuaded to leave the house and hunt, she could think for herself. She didn't know what to feel first; irritating at Damon having landed himself in serious trouble again, or heartbreak that his noble intentions had given him a death sentence.

Maybe it was just the volatile vampire blood in her system but she suddenly found she couldn't keep still. She paced up and down, her eyebrows knitting together as she tried to process everything. The odd hysterical sob rose to the surface and escaped her mouth, and it eerily echoed around the room momentarily distracting her.

"You turning into a werewolf or something?" someone's voice spoke.

Elena whirled around, frustrated at Damon's casual attitude at his own sudden mortality. She made a hissing sound which actually had him recoiling in alarm. She wondered what to yell at him about first; his stupidity, or his lax attitude in general.

"How can you be so relaxed about this?" she demanded, gesturing around.

Damon looked confused. "The house?"

"Your bite!" she seethed. "You're going to die and you don't seem to care."

"Au contraire, Elena," Damon said, sauntering towards her. "I happen to care very much. I'm going to miss all the big blockbusters this year."

She let out a derisive snort.

"Fine, put on a brave face, I don't care," she announced, throwing herself down on the couch, avoiding his gaze.

He tilted his head curiously, his eyes glazing over with speculation. He went to sit next to her, rolling his eyes as she deliberately moved to the other end like they were children.

"Why do you care how I act during my final days?" he asked, his voice serious for once. "Once I'm gone, and Klaus is dead, you'll have no one left to hate. You'll be free."

Elena shook her head in disbelief and turned to hide her tears. It was typical Damon to be right about the wrong things. She hated him on one level, because he'd robbed her of a choice she would've liked to have made on her own _(though she'd admitted to Stefan it wasn't a choice she'd ever have made)_ and yet she still cared. He made mistake after mistake and yet she always found reasons to justify still caring about him.

"I don't hate you, Damon," she said brokenly. "But I can't forgive what you did to me. That elixir could've worked without me becoming a vampire!"

"It could've done," Damon replied evenly. "But I wasn't going to take that chance. Yes, I was selfish, but hell, we've come to the point where the only consequence I give a damn about is your life! I'd rather you hate me and be alive, than you caring about me and _dead_."

She flinched at the word, but he shrugged, looking unabashed. One thing she could credit him for was that he was always honest. But his words made no sense to her. There were plenty of girls in Mystic Falls who were beautiful and kind and caring yet he seemed to be only concerned with her. And Stefan's words came back to haunt her.

_He did it because he loves you._

And she held back what felt like a flood of tears because she was beginning to realize the implications of that. She looked back at every decision Damon had made and knew Stefan wouldn't have said what he'd said for nothing. Having Damon in love with her was an added complication, an added piece of drama she didn't need.

And now she knew the truth, it was going to mean letting him go was going to be that much harder for both of them.

"Do I not get a say in this?" she asked evenly.

"Nope. Because I didn't get a say in your whole _bring Elijah back from the dead _plan."

"I knew you would've stopped me!"

"Damn right, I would've stopped you," he growled, suddenly on his feet. "I don't think you get just how much I've put into keeping you safe and alive. Not that I'd expect you to appreciate my efforts." "

What is that supposed to mean?" she demanded, her hands on her hips, her stare defiant.

He looked her up and down, wondering how she could drive him so crazy. There were so many things he wanted to say but he knew she'd never understand. Maybe being a vampire would be good for her, help her understand his perspective. Until she had a similar experience of loving someone for over a hundred and forty five years only to get her heart ripped out at the end, she would never understand why he was the way he was. She could keep questioning his motives all she wanted, but he'd never tell. Not even on his dying bed. She didn't need that revelation spinning around on her mind whilst everything else was going on.

"You say one thing, then berate me for doing the same thing, Elena," he told her wearily. "You went all out to find another way to save Bonnie, yet when I try and do the same for you, you tell me to leave it, that it's your life to do with what you want. Well, you know what? I'd do it again. I'd make the choice Stefan never could. At the end of the day, it'll be me that saves your freakin' ass, and I won't get the credit for it."

And, leaving her bewildered and hurt, he walked away.

/./…/./

_I've been angry and sad about things that you do  
__I can't count all the times that I've told you we're through  
__And when you go, when you slam the door, I think you know  
__That you won't be away too long  
__You know that I'm not that strong._

/./…/./

Elena was writing in her diary when he showed up on her window sill, his face distorted with pain. She'd come home briefly to retrieve some of her things, only to find she'd had a lot on her mind she couldn't keep there any longer. He stumbled through and sat on her bed, clearly trying to keep his distance without being far away from her.

"Damon… Are you okay?" she asked thoughtlessly.

"Damn thing is twinging," he grumbled, the real pain buried deep within his eyes. "I'd rather it be over now, save Stefan the cost of a funeral."

"That's not funny!" she snapped, her face whitening.

He opened one eye to look at her.

"I thought it was," he said, his tone light and playful.

"Why can't you be serious?" she bemoaned, looking exasperated. "This is your life we're talking about. You're going to die."

"I've been dead for so long," Damon mumbled through his hands. "What's the difference?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she flitted around until she'd found a piece of clothing she could discard with, disappearing into the bathroom to immerse it in cold water before resurfacing.

"Remove your jacket," she ordered.

"Ooh… Getting kinky are we?" Damon teased, immediately wincing as a flash of pain rocked his body.

Her eyes lit up with soft humour, but her lips remained pressed in a hard line. Sighing, he obliged, removing his jacket so she could get to his arm where the bite actually was. Pressing the piece of clothing to his arm, she gave him the once over, wondering morbidly whether he'd be stronger than Rose, or whether he'd succumb quicker. The fact she couldn't answer her own question scared the hell out of her.

"You don't have to put on a show with me, Damon," she told him, noticing his eyes were on her. "I'm not Stefan. I don't care if you vent at me. I just want you to get better." "

This isn't one of those _oh-gee-Damon's-dying-better-patch-things-up-and-treat-him-like-a-child _things is it?" Damon asked, studying her carefully. "If I'm going to earn your forgiveness, Elena, I want it to be real."

They both stared at each other as a memory simultaneously settled into their minds.

"_I didn't compel you because I wanted it to be real."_

Elena nearly looked away. So many times she'd wished Damon a horrible and painful death, yet now that curse had been placed upon him, all she could think about was saving his life.

She continued pressing the cold cloth against his skin, aware she was mollycoddling him like Stefan had done to her, but she knew she hadn't needed it. Damon did.

"So, how long do you think I've got, doctor?" he quipped, giving her a teasing smirk.

"I don't want to think about it," she said quietly.

"Why?" He tilted his head to one side, his gaze speculative. "I don't want your pity, Elena. I don't want sympathy."

"What do you want then?" she snapped, her hand shaking. "I sure as hell can't figure out what you want from me. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells around you. If I say or do one wrong thing, you'll snap and I have to live with the consequences of your mistake. Is that fair?"

"It feels a little better," he said after a brief pause, ignoring her question.

"Any hot flushes?" she asked, feeling his head.

He gently swatted her away. "Nope. Not yet."

"Nausea? Pain of any other kind?"

_Would you count heartbreak as pain?_ he silently wondered.

"No."

"Okay, then I think we're done here," she said, removing the cloth, her hands wringing around the air as she figured out what to do, what to say that would make the palpable tension around them disappear.

"Right…"

They stared intensely at each other, the silence around them deep and meaningful. Time was running out for both of them, yet they were letting it slip between their fingers all the same. Damon rose to his feet fluently, trying not to think about the last meaningful conversation they'd had in here, a conversation he'd made sure he was the only one who remembered.

"For what it's worth, Elena," he told her, looking strangely lost as he turned to stare at her. "I'm not sorry for what I did. I am, however, sorry for the way I've been acting recently. If I've been a jerk, it's only because I'm trying to keep you alive and safe."

Elena looked up at him, her brow furrowed and her eyes unfathomable for once. He couldn't read her, even if he'd tried.

"I know," she said slowly, dragging out each letter as if trying to keep him from leaving.

"Thank you for taking care of me, Elena," he said, his voice thick with distance, and she found she hated hearing it in his voice.

And, just like that, he was right in front of her, stealing her composure, her breath along with it, and kissed the top of her head. It almost - _almost _being the operative word - brought a memory to the surface, but she couldn't remember enough for it count as a memory. It must've been pieces of a dream or something.

Then, leaving a thin trace on her head where his lips had been, he was gone, leaving her feeling alone and cold.

She drew her legs towards her chest and began to cry quietly to herself, tears spilling from her eyes onto the pages of her diary.

/./…/./

_Mamma Mia, even if I say  
__Bye, bye, leave me now or never  
__Mamma Mia, it's a game we play  
__Bye, bye, doesn't mean forever…._

/./…/./

The lone strains of Willie Nelson's _Are You Sure? _filled the room. Damon sat staring into the fire, feeling every emotion under the sun. He'd felt dead for so long, yet now he was beginning to feel human again, it was being taken away from him. Robbed because of a stupid mistake.

He wasn't going to tell Caroline her would-be boyfriend had cost him his life. As irritated as he was for listening to her, he knew she'd be babbling apologies at him until he ended up taking her down himself. The last thing he needed was to lose control.

"_Are you sure this is where you want to be?"_ he sang along with the song, knocking back his drink. _"These are your friends, but are they real friends? Do they love you as much as me?"_

"I didn't take you for a Willie Nelson fan," a soft voice called.

He didn't turn. "You back already?"

Elena held her small rucksack to her chest, making a noise of agreement. She then walked towards him, walking past the cough as she went to kneel by the fire. He watched her, his eyes reflecting the flames.

"I used to make a fire every night after my mom and dad died," she said quietly, "just so I could stare into it. Sometimes I saw their faces in it." Her eyes met his. "I've lost too many people, Damon. I can't lose you too."

He wordlessly rolled her the bottle of whiskey he had on the side. She pulled a face - clearly she had no taste when it came to alcohol - but she took it anyway, removing the cap and taking a long, bitter swig of the stuff.

"You'll survive," he replied indifferently. "You'll just have a Damon-less eternity, which I have to say sounds no fun at all."

Elena didn't smile at his weak attempt at humour. He was transparent when he was trying to avoid talking about his problems. It was one of the things she found frustrating about him. If he opened up a little more, maybe she could've found a way to save him. He was falling long before this bite had emerged.

"Want to snuggle?" Damon asked suddenly, sounding serious.

It was such a bizarre and inappropriate comment to make she couldn't help snorting with laughter. The snort soon gave way to a bout of hysterical laughter she couldn't fight, which meant she was rolling around laughing when all she wanted to do in reality was cry.

"Missing comments like that is exactly why your life is going to suck without me," he told her, his trademark smirk back on his face. "The one time Stefan tried his hand at wit, he came up with ninja turtles. What am I meant to say to that?"

Elena laughed again, the tears rolling down her face in an odd sort of compromise. She buried her head in her arms as an overwhelming type of grief swept over her, pulling her under. And, in an uncharacteristic move, she felt someone's arms wrap themselves around her, pulling her towards him.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly. "Stefan…"

"…Is out," Damon finished smoothly. "Don't be a buzz kill, Elena. Let me have my moment."

So they sat there, looking like the world's most unconventional couple, staring into the fire wondering how much time they each had left. Damon felt something stir inside him as he sat watching the fire with Elena. It was a feeling he'd not felt for a long time.

Fear.

He was terrified of dying and, despite what he'd vowed to himself earlier, he knew the only way he was ever going to get through the next few hours, days, however long he had, was by getting a few things out into the open once and for all. He had to tell her how he felt, although if she became a vampire it would all come tumbling back anyway, and he knew he had to earn her forgiveness. And he didn't want it to be out of pity. He wanted it to be real. She had to look him in the eyes and sincerely tell him she forgave him. And he had to believe it.

"There's got to be a cure," Elena eventually said, her voice shaky.

"If I'd known one, I would've saved Rose," Damon told her. "You know that."

She closed her eyes. "Yeah. I guess I just fooled myself into thinking you'd always be around. Whatever future I'd conceived about me and Stefan, I always saw you in it somewhere."

"Like making inappropriate comments at your wedding? Or getting drunk at your engagement party and trying to feel you up?"

"Damon!" Elena couldn't help but laugh though.

"Admit it, that's how you saw me in the future."

"Sort of," she admitted. "But you were there all the same."

"You know what, Elena?" he said slowly, thoughtfully. "I think whatever future you have, you're going to be happy. And, more importantly, _alive_. "

She nodded, unable to speak. Now, why wasn't Damon like this all the time?

_Because, _her heart wisely answered, _you wouldn't have him any other way and you know it. _

/./…/./

_Yes, I've been broken-hearted  
__Blue, since the day we parted  
__Why, why, did I ever let you go?  
__Mamma Mia, now I really know  
__My, my, I could never let you go…_

/./…/./

* * *

**A/n: In this chapter, it ignores Elena going with Klaus. I just wondered what would've happened if Elena knew Damon had been bitten, how she'd feel. I guess the song doesn't really go with this moment, but I couldn't really think of an ABBA song that would fit. I wanted it to read like two character's trying to deal with their emotions, rather than saying goodbye, and Mamma Mia sort of fits that. Thank you for all the reviews! I love how invested you guys are, it means a lot! **


	5. The Name of the Game

#5  
Name of the Game

* * *

Elena stared out the window of the car, her thoughts elsewhere. The car, although stationary, in her mind was miles down the road, the search for Stefan continuing despite the fact she knew hope was fading a little more each day. He wasn't answering his phone, which was a given really, and every desperate text she sent was left unanswered, completely ignored.

The driver's door opened and a figure slid in, his hair completely soaked from the downpour that was, unfortunately, the current weather situation outside. Damon shook his hair like a dog, flashing a smirk in Elena's direction.

"Any luck?" she asked quietly, not daring to get her hopes up.

"Sadly, no," Damon responded, his smirk dissolving into a frown. "According to my friend's friend, they passed through here – mostly just to dine on some of the local residents – but then promptly left. Nobody can really recall, even with compulsion, where they actually headed after that. The trail's gone cold."

Elena nodded, her lip wobbling a fraction. She leaned her head against the dashboard, letting a few silent tears slide down her cheeks. She hadn't expected any news as of such, but it was a tribute to her naivety really that she kept hoping all the same, like she was still that same little girl who once believed all the world came to you, not the other way around.

"We'll find him, Elena," Damon reassured her. "It's just a matter of following the blood trail." He winced. "Ugh, even I found that to be in bad taste." The smirk reappeared. "Excuse the pun."

She didn't smile. Instead, she let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in her seat, turning her head to stare at the rain as it cascaded down the window. The sky outside was a fog grey, matching her mood perfectly. It seemed like they'd lost whatever trail they'd managed to pick up for good.

"Let's just find the nearest motel and check in," she said moodily.

Damon looked like he was going to argue, but he examined her expression and realized it was utterly futile. With a heavy sigh to match hers, he started the car and reversed out of the small, abandoned lane they'd parked into.

They drove for the next twenty minutes in silence. At one point, he'd attempted to put the radio on but her glare had stopped him. To compromise, he'd sped up the car a little, trying to coax as much speed as he could out of it so they could reach their destination faster. The silence was literally killing him inside, not to mention they'd still not discussed everything that had happened during that time leading up to Katherine waltzing in with the cure. He'd lied a little, mostly to placate Elena, telling her it was all a fuzz, that he barely remembered anything during his ill moments. He suspected she knew he was lying, but she was grateful for the delay in discussing it all the same. Stefan was the forefront person in both their minds.

Eventually, they spotted a run-down looking motel on the side of the road. After looking to Elena for confirmation, Damon pulled in and parked the car in what had to be the world's tiniest car park, with exactly three parking spaces, two of which were occupied.

Damon got out the car and whizzed around to open Elena's. She smiled gratefully at him, but there was exhaustion in her eyes. Two months on the road together, with very little contact with her friends and Jeremy, had taken its toll on her. Slowly, day by day, she was turning into this zombie, who only really poured her life and soul into searching for Stefan. He felt for her, he really did, and as much as he wanted to offer her comfort, he couldn't. Inside his own mind, there was a violent storm of guilt and emotion he couldn't fight. Stefan had given up his humanity, had given up Elena, to save his life. Nothing he'd ever done could ever match the selflessness of Stefan's last gift, and it'd tormented him, although he'd hidden it well.

Walking side by side, they approached the reception of the motel, which had a stern looking woman of about fifty years old hovering around there, her sharp eyes looking up as they walked inside, both soaking wet.

"Yes?" she barked, causing a flicker of alarm to spread across Elena's face.

"Two single rooms please," Damon requested smoothly, producing his credit card with a flourish.

"Only got one room available, and that's a double," the woman told him.

"No single rooms?" Damon frowned. "Only two cars are here! What kind of people have occupied the other rooms, aliens?"

"We get lots of tourists passing through," the woman replied, her tone thick with ice.

Elena spotted something in the woman's right hand. It was a plant of some sort, held between her fingers very tightly. The scent it gave off made her eyes widen with recognition and she mouthed the word to 'vervain' to Damon, who immediately rolled his eyes, realizing there was no way he was going to be able to charm some kindness into this woman.

"We'll take the double then please," he said, his lips white from the cold.

"Very good," the woman grunted, snatching his credit card and swiping it through the machine.

As Damon went to enter his details, Elena looked around the reception area, her eyes taking in the grottiness of the place. They couldn't afford to be picky, however. Sure, they'd had better motels, but they'd also had a lot worse. She knew she was slowing Damon down. Damon didn't require much sleep – he could run on an hour's sleep if she'd asked him to – but she did. In fact, it had crossed her mind maybe he was better off searching for Stefan alone, except for the fact she couldn't lose him too. It was selfish, yes, but she needed at least one Salvatore close to hand and, strange as it seemed, Damon had been so kind and thoughtful as of lately that she was beginning to trust him more than she should.

"Room 15," Damon announced, handing her the key. "My word, does that woman have a stick up her ass. She asked me for my date of birth and everything."

"Please tell me you kept it within this century," Elena said, a hint of a smile on her face.

"Of course," Damon replied smoothly. "I'm a born liar."

"That's not a good quality to possess," she pointed out. "Although, I will concede it is useful."

"There you go, I'm useful after all," Damon bragged, linking his arm through hers. "Let's see this double room. I claim the bed."

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling. Though the days were so hard, Damon was the one who kept her spirits up. If there had been any doubts about whether forgiving him for all his sins in the heat of the moment, they had gone. He'd more than fairly earned every piece of her forgiveness.

Still, something was stirring inside, something she couldn't quite admit, even to herself. It felt like the beginnings of something deep and meaningful, akin to what she felt for Stefan only…bigger. She wasn't sure what was going on between her and Damon exactly, but she did know what Katherine had said before skipping off had resonated with her.

"_It's okay to love them both. I did."_

What confirmed her suspicions that she might just possibly have feelings for Damon was both the fact she found it so easy to overlook his flaws and see his true colours, and the fact every time he touched her, whether it was a simple brush of the arm or a full on hug, wasn't what she'd call unpleasant, and the shudders certainly weren't ones of revulsion. Not anymore.

/./…././

_I've seen you twice in a short time  
__Only a week since we started  
__It seems to me for every time  
__I'm getting more open hearted_

/./…././

The room, in all fairness, was the perfect portrait of a typical American motel room. There was a double bed, a couple of chairs tucked crudely in the corner, and a cheap, shoddy looking bathroom. The walls were a vile blend of yellow and orange in colour and the carpet was just a plain brown. It was just the kind of place you wanted to run away from not run to, but it wasn't for them to be picky.

"A double bed?" Elena groaned. "I thought it might've been a double room with two single beds."

"Oh no," Damon said, pretending to sound distressed. "Well, we'll just have to make do with what we've got."

"It's freezing in here," Elena complained, ignoring Damon for the moment.

"We can snuggle," Damon suggested.

She turned quickly around.

"You're loving this aren't you?" she accused.

"Well…" He pretended to consider. "Yeah…"

She couldn't help but chuckle, before flinging herself on the bed. She rose up a little in the air as Damon did the same.

"It'll be good for us to share the same room for once," Damon spoke, his voice thick with mischief. "We can bond. Stay up late. Swap stories about our lives."

"Yeah, 'cause we don't already know everything about each other," Elena snorted, throwing her rock hard pillow in Damon's direction.

"I don't know everything about you," Damon reminded her, easily dodging the pillow. "I don't know what you were like before I met you. I'm curious."

She stared at him, surprised by this topic. It was hard to recall those years before vampires had, literally, swept into her life. The friends she'd used to hang around with no longer had a place in her life, except for Caroline and Bonnie. It was hard to keep up with Matt and Tyler, who both had their own lives to lead.

"What do you want to know?" she asked, her surprise still on her face.

"What were you like?" was Damon's first question.

"Very spoilt," she admitted. "I was popular, smart, pretty much everything any girl wants to be. I was with Matt, and was convinced we were meant to be together. I mean, he was my best friend. I thought making the transition from friends to lovers would be easy, would make the relationship last. I was wrong and I broke up with him."

"Were you still friends with Judgey and Blondie?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I was. Maybe if you stopped giving them cute nicknames and insulting them you'd know we've been best friends since we were little. We're close."

Damon looked haughty. "Funnily enough, I worked that out for myself, thank you very much."

Elena giggled.

"Just checking. You've nearly died so many times, your brain might've malfunctioned," she teased.

He lightly shoved her, but the movement (given his strength) ended up pushing her off the bed. She fell to the floor with a shriek, eventually giving way to waves of hysterical laughter. He peered over the side of the bed, only for her hands to reach out and pull him off too.

Damon fluently rose to his feet, before sitting on the edge of the bed, smirking at her as she struggled to get up.

"You've died, you've faced vampires and werewolves, and yet a bed manages to defeat you?" he teased. "For that, you sleep on the floor."

He sprawled across the bed, causing her to grumble in protest. After a few minutes, Elena rose to her feet and flew at Damon with the full intent of pushing him off the bed. He grabbed her wrists quickly, so that she was straddling him (rather embarrassingly) with her arms yanked above her head.

"Let go," she growled.

"Say please."

"Let go or your trousers will be severely lacking anything to protect."

He gaped at her.

"You are a dark woman, no mistake about that," he told her, smirking.

"I learn from the best," she pointed out, glancing at him meaningfully.

"I have the mannerisms of a saint," he declared, grinning up at her. "You, on the other hand, are now straddling a vampire in the classic position of seduction. You have clearly lost any innocence you may have claimed to have had."

That rather bizarre sentence was what broke Elena. With a loud laugh, she collapsed to the side and started clutching her sides. Months of tension had brought her to this point. It felt good to release all the tension for one moment and just laugh like she'd never laughed before.

As she turned to one side, she saw Damon's earnest look, saw how all traces of humour had gone and he was gazing deep into her eyes. She froze, unable to react, unable to think, all thoughts of Stefan momentarily gone. What did you do when you felt something for someone, yet harboured strong affections, strong feelings of love for someone else? Did you yield to temptation, or did you remain faithful to the only constant left in your life?

/./…././

_What's the name of the game?  
__Does it mean anything to you?  
__What's the name of the game?  
__Can you feel it the way I do?  
__Tell me please, 'cause I have to know  
__I'm a bashful child beginning to grow_

/./…././

Elena opted for the second option, rolling away from Damon to conceal her torment. She then rose to her feet, muttering some excuse about going to the bathroom. Once she was in there, she splashed some cold water on her face, trying to remind herself of the real goal here. She'd joined forces with Damon to save Stefan. Once he was home, things would gradually turn back to normal.

If she repeated that like a mantra, she could convince herself what she was saying wasn't utter gibberish, but she possessed enough common sense to realize things wouldn't ever be the same again. Nearly losing Damon had opened up her heart to a lot of emotions she'd initially resisted. She was eventually going to have to face the music; she couldn't hole herself up in here forever

Opening the door slowly, she snuck back into the room, noticing Damon was now standing, his arms folded, wearing a sombre expression.

"Perhaps now it's time we talk about the elephant in the room?" he suggested.

"What elephant?" she asked weakly.

"I'm not one to make the same mistakes twice, Elena," he told her. "So, I'm not going to force myself on you like I did last time. But I have to know… Is there something between us?"

She gazed intently at her hands, wondering how to explain something to Damon she couldn't even explain to herself. It felt like betraying Stefan just by having this conversation.

"Maybe," she hedged. "But I don't know what I feel, Damon. When I thought you were going to die… Well, it put a lot of things into perspective for me."

He looked disgusted.

"So was that a pity kiss? All the things you said to me were just out of pity?"

"No." She shook her head vehemently. "I'm not Katherine, Damon. I don't enjoy loving both of you. It's hard. I love Stefan, I really do. But every time I'm around you…" She raised her arms helplessly. "I think there's always been something there. I'm just very, very, very stubborn."

Damon sighed. "Elena… I didn't mean to…"

"No. You're right. Maybe on some level, the things I said to you came from a fear of losing you. But that doesn't mean the words I said to you weren't real, or that they didn't come from my heart."

He stared at her, his expression conflicted.

"What?" she asked, looking troubled.

He sighed.

"It's not going to make you any more comfortable with the situation."

"Tell me. I can handle it," Elena insisted.

"I'm not one for corniness. In fact, I used to rent rom-coms just so I could boo them and flick popcorn at the screen. But right here, right now… Well, I can honestly say I've never been more in love with you than I am now."

There was an awkward silence, as Elena tried to figure out how the hell to react to that wonderful admission. She knew he loved her, yet it seemed like a different admission hearing him say he was _in _love with her. There wasn't much difference between the two, but somehow it made all the difference to her.

The short distance between them was made even shorter as she closed the gap. She looked up at him and wondered whether this was another line she wanted to cross. Somehow, despite the similarities between this situation and the situation she'd had with Matt, this felt new, challenging. When Matt was hurt, he sulked and retrieved his Ipod, using music as a form of escapism. When Damon was hurt, usually other people got hurt into the bargain. She had to wonder whether pursuing a relationship with Damon was a volatile action to take, like lighting a fuse. But then again, she had to think of the benefits she'd reap: lifelong protection, someone who'd sacrifice sleep just to see her, passion beyond anything she'd ever experienced…

Before she'd even noticed, Damon was only inches away, his hands on either side of her face. There was no fight left her in anymore; whatever happened now could be considered as consensual.

Their lips met once, in a soft and slow kiss that took her breath away. Their lips temporarily parted as he gaged her reaction, before his lips assaulted (there was no other word for it) hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, almost begging for more. Something had just exploded inside her, releasing fireworks inside her chest she couldn't contain. There was no room for feeling guilty; so many emotions were building up inside her.

He guided her gently over to the bed and, still kissing her, gently pushed her down. She couldn't protest. Two months on the road with Damon had meant she'd discovered another side to him, another sweeter, kinder side that she was afraid she'd fallen for. How could she protest what her heart at this moment wanted?

She fought for breath, before returning the assault in a move which surprised them both. Her hands tugged at his shirt, a surprised laugh escaping both sets of lips as some buttons popped off.

"It's my muscles," he bragged, his voice constricted due to his breathlessness. "They…do…that a… lot. Burst my shirts, that is."

She ran her hands on his skin under the fabric, a surprised smile emerging.

"Wow," she breathed.

"I know," he said, grinning, his lips next attacking her neck.

She suddenly froze, uncomfortable with that particular gesture. It wasn't because she hated being kissed there; she just couldn't help remembering what had happened last time Damon's lips had been at that point.

Damon drew back, looking instantly confused.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked worriedly.

She gently grabbed his hands and moved his fingers to the now faint mark on her neck where his lips had been drawing blood from her.

"It still hurts," she whispered, sitting up, her arms locking around her body.

He sat next to her, the moment gone. He wondered how to break the silence, immediately sensing nothing more was going to happen tonight. Her expression was one of confliction. Now she'd taken time to breathe, her conscience had kicked in.

"You can't feel guilty you know," he told her, taking one of her hands in his. "It's not your fault I'm a devilishly handsome rogue on the quest for your heart."

That made her smile; good, he could work with that.

"If Stefan was here, he'd want you to be happy," he continued, trying to make her smile again. "Look, we don't have to talk about this again if you don't want to. But I can't forget. You know I can't."

"I know," Elena murmured, turning to give him the faintest of smiles. "It's just hard. We're here for Stefan, yet we almost… I mean, we…."

She looked at the bed, her facial expression almost making Damon laugh out loud. She was trying to look disgusted with herself, but he could see the longing in her eyes. The two expressions, each with different intents, messages, just made her look like she was some kind of satanic creature.

"If it's any consolation, I'm fantastic in bed," he bragged, leaning back on the bed, his arms behind his head.

"Damon!"

"Oh, yeah, that's not a consolation," he mused. "That's more like torture."

She rolled her eyes and stood up, making her way over to her bag to retrieve her cell phone. There was a message from Jeremy there, and the message itself made her burst into laughter.

"What joke am I missing out on?" Damon demanded, rising to his feet.

She showed him the phone and he bit his lips, trying to hold back an immature snicker.

_Hey, Elena. Everything's fine here. Me & Bonnie r fine. So's Caroline. Nothing new to report. We all still miss you. Hoping you r ok and that Damon hasn't got his hands on you yet xx Jeremy._

"Now what does he think I'm going to do exactly?" Damon demanded. "I am a gentleman."

"I can think of about twenty different memories which would dispute that," Elena fired at him.

He poked his tongue out at her but was too tired to come up with any more witty comments. He collapsed on the bed, yawning loudly, surprised when Elena, after typing a quick message back to Jeremy, followed suit. Rather than making an even divide in the bed as he'd expected, she snuggled up to him, something that evoked all the feelings he'd felt the last time she'd been this close to him.

"Jeremy's alright," he yawned. "I'm glad I didn't kill him."

One eye of Elena's opened him, examining him curiously.

"Do explain that strange comment," she demanded.

"He's very protective of you," Damon explained, giving her a smile. "As much as I'd like to punch him for assuming I'd have my wicked way with you, I can't condemn him for trying to protect you."

"You'll make me cry," she warned. "Stop being so damn nice. I want the asshole Damon back. This new one is strange."

He chuckled, closing his eyes.

"One thing I've learned out of the madness that is my existence, Elena, is that people are capable of changing. You put faith in me when no one else did, so, in return I'm going to take this slow. I'll wait for you. Always."

She smiled at him, her eyes filling up with tears. Damon usually could take her breath away with his insensitive comments, but, this time, he'd taken her breath away for all the right reasons.

/./…././

_You make me talk and you make me feel  
__And you make me show, what I'm trying to conceal  
__If I trust in you, would you let me down?  
__Would you laugh at me, if I said I care for you?_

/./…././

Halfway through the night, Elena felt herself stir, desperately needing water. Trying not to disturb Damon, she tiptoed in the bathroom, surprised to see a glass of water already there waiting for her.

_"Damn it, Damon,"_ she thought to herself. _"Every time I think I know you, you go and pull a stunt like this."_

She took the water and guzzled it down greedily. Damon made a surprisingly comfortable pillow; when he was awake, she wondered if he'd consider taking on the role full time. When her thoughts reminded her what she'd just considered, she blushed. Usually, when they camped out in motels, they would talk for a bit, then go into their separate rooms. Now, however, they'd been forced to share and it had been a bizarre and wonderful experience.

_"We should book double rooms more often," _she mused, and then rolled her eyes, realizing her current train of thought seemed to be orientating around her and Damon sharing a bed.

Damn it. She needed to get some more sleep.

Either that, or she just needed to get some, which sounded like something Caroline would bark at her.

Concealing a smile, Elena tiptoed back in, surprised Damon lay there, completely undisturbed. It was unusual to see him so quiet like this and so still. She was accustomed to seeing him blur around, verbally and physically wounding people. It didn't matter really that he wasn't perfect. He was there for her, and in the dark and dangerous world she lived in, that was exactly what she needed. With Stefan gone, he hadn't resisted when she'd insisted they try and find him. As she recalled, he'd yelled 'road trip' and had whisked them both to his car.

She lay back down on the bed, smiling fondly at the memory. As she closed her eyes, preparing to go back to sleep, Damon stirred next to her.

"Bet you anything you were thinking about me just then," he murmured.

She raised an eyebrow.

"How can you be so sure?" she whispered.

She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her.

"Because you're wearing a silly little grin which only I could be the cause of," he inferred.

She shrugged. "So what if I was? What are you trying to prove?"

"Oh, nothing," Damon replied, settling back down and closing his eyes. "Just that Edward Cullen has nothing on me, that's all."

And he fell back to sleep quickly, muttering something about not having mind reading powers and still being insanely awesome. Elena rolled her eyes but also slowly fell back to sleep, wearing the biggest smile on her face.

* * *

**A/n: Thanks for the reviews! This was my favourite chapter to write. Next chapter is when things get hot and heavy so look forward to that! The time periods between one-shots are undetermined, but I usually specify somewhere within the one-shot. Just to specify, I don't own Damon or The Vampire Diaries, although I'd dearly love to. I'd sell my soul to own either one (mostly the first). **


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